At least, an American movie which is creative, original, unpredictable, and EVEN intelligent. Not a masterpiece. It has its flaws, I know. But nowadays when I go to see a movie I always expect I'll be disappointed, and I'm grateful when, like in this case, I am not.

Of course they think they work for the greater good. Who said otherwise?

The scene in the film still rings false, as do many other scenes, but it's just a movie. I don't see it as anything to get worked up over, but that scene has been accused of being anti-Catholic as well as anti-religious by some critics. DWS and Precious were not the only ones to point it out.

“‎Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” - Voltaire

I might question that thesis. Many clergy that I've met or have heard about, often think they are working for a greater good and with enough members of the community complaining to them about an issue, they might take it upon themselves to speak for the community even if they do not.

That's especially true in the U.S. today. Think about how many times priests and pastors have spoken out for the safety of the nation thinking they speak for all people of faith when they speak for a small portion of the community of faith in the country.

Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin

To clarify, any clergyman of any faith might speak to a member of their congregation in the manner that the priest in the film did, but they would not speak for the town unless they were the only game in town.

“‎Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” - Voltaire

In a small town, Peter, they most certainly would, but you point out (and a point that I thought of early this morning) the main reason it feels inauthentic. It should have been a protestant minister, not a Catholic priest. In Missouri, 77% of the population is Christian. 58% Protsetant and only 16% Catholic. Most small towns in Missouri, if they have only one church, that church will be protestant and not Catholic. Even slightly bigger towns will have more protestant than Catholic churches.

In Springfield, where I live, there are only four or five Catholic churches, but dozens of protestant churches, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God, Churches of Christ, etc. There's only one Mormon church, one Jewish temple, and I believe maybe one Muslim temple here. Yes, those Catholic churches have more members than the smaller denomination protestant churches, but we have two very large churches, one Baptist and one AoG.

Wesley Lovell

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin

A Catholic priest in the U.S. would not presume to speak for a town, which would more than likely be predominantly Protestant, though it might be something they still do in County Galway in Ireland where McDonagh spent his holidays at his Irish Catholic mother's parents' home, in which Catholicism is the predominant, if not the only, religion. That scene was pure McDonagh.

McDonagh is an angry playwright. All of his plays, even his comedies, are confrontational. I'm not sure Three Billboards shouldn't be seen as a comedy, a very black comedy, but a comedy nevertheless. Although set in the Midwest, it's a very English-Irish sort of thing that I enjoyed without taking it too seriously. My only objection was the ending. I like my mysteries to have a resolution. I don't require that you find out who the murderer was, although that would certainly be preferable, but at least give the characters some sort of closure even if all they do is give up. As Precious alluded earlier, this plays out like the opening chapter of a TV mini-series rather than a real movie. That's probably enough to keep it from winning Best Picture everywhere except at BAFTA where it should be an easy winner for Best British Film with Christopher Nolan having pulled Dunkirk from consideration for that prize.

“‎Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” - Voltaire